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Abstract
This handout describes partial fractions decomposition and how it can
be used when integrating rational functions.
x3 = x x2 1 +x
3
x x
=x+
x2 1 x2 1
x
We then would apply partial fraction decomposition to .
x2 1
In this class, we will use partial fraction decomposition as an integration
technique. The ultimate goal is to decompose a fraction so we can integrate it.
In this document, we will focus on the decomposition. Keep in mind why we
are doing this decomposition.
How we perform partial fraction decomposition depends of the denominator
of the fraction. We consider several cases.
1
1.2 Case 1: q(x) is a product of distinct linear factors.
Let us assume that q (x) is a product of n distinct linear factors that is
q (x) = (a1 x + b1 ) (a2 x + b2 ) ::: (an x + bn )
Then,
p (x) A1 A2 An
= + + ::: +
q (x) a1 x + b1 a2 x + b2 an x + bn
Finding the decomposition amounts to …nding the coe¢ cients A1 , ..., An . This
can be done two di¤erent ways. We illustrate this in the examples below.
Remark 1 p (x) does not play a role in the way the decomposition is written.
x
Example 2 Find the decomposition for
+ 2x 3 x2
x
We begin by factoring the denominator. We obtain . According
(x + 3) (x 1)
to the decomposition we wrote above, we have:
x A B
= +
(x + 3) (x 1) x+3 x 1
We need to …nd A and B. Multiplying each side by the denominator of the
fraction on the left and simplifying, we obtain:
x = A (x 1) + B (x + 3)
= Ax A + Bx + 3B
= (A + B) x A + 3B
Two polynomials are equal if their corresponding coe¢ cients are equal. This
gives us the following system:
A+B =1
A + 3B = 0
8
< A= 3
>
The solution of this system is: 4 Thus, we have
> 1
: B=
4
x 1 3 1
= +
x2 + 2x 3 4 x+3 x 1
There is an easier way which works in this case. We show it on the next example.
x2 x
Example 3 Find the decomposition for
(x 1) (x + 5) (x 3)
The denominator is already factored. The decomposition is:
x2 x A B C
= + +
(x 1) (x + 5) (x 3) x 1 x+5 x 3
2
We need to …nd A, B, and C . We begin the same way, we multiply each side
by the denominator of the fraction on the left, and simplify. We obtain:
x2 x = A (x + 5) (x 3) + B (x 1) (x 3) + C (x 1) (x + 5)
Then we notice that since the above equality is true for every x, it will be true
for speci…c values of x. We select values for x which will make all but one of
the coe¢ cients go away. We will then be able to solve for that coe¢ cient. More
precisely,
When x = 1, we obtain:
0 = A (6) ( 2)
A=0
When x = 5, we obtain
30 = B ( 6) ( 8)
30
B=
48
5
B=
8
When x = 3, we obtain
6 = C (2) (8)
3
C=
8
Therefore, the decomposition is:
x2 x 1 5 3
= +
(x 1) (x + 5) (x 3) 8 x+5 x 3
x2 2
Example 4 Find a decomposition for 3
(x 2) (x + 1)
The decomposition is:
x2 2 A B C D
3 = + + +
(x 2) (x + 1) x 2 x + 1 (x + 1)2 (x + 1)
3
3
Then, we proceed as before. We multiply each side by the denominator of the
fraction on the left and simplify. We obtain:
3 2
x2 2 = A (x + 1) + B (x 2) (x + 1) + C (x 2) (x + 1) + D (x 2)
If x = 2, we get
2 = 27A
2
A=
27
If x = 1, we get
1= 3D
1
D=
3
We still have to …nd B and C. For this, we choose two more values for x
and write the corresponding system. We now know A and D, so we can
use the value we found for them.
If x = 1, we get
1 = 8A 4B 2C D
16 1
= 4B 2C
27 3
16 9 27
4B + 2C = +
27 27 27
34
4B + 2C =
27
If x = 0, we get
2 = A 2B 2C 2D
2 2
= 2B 2C
27 3
2 18 54
2B + 2C = +
27 27 27
38
2B + 2C =
27
Thus, we need to solve
8
< 4B + 2C = 34
>
27
> 38
: 2B + 2C =
27
4
2 7
The solution is : B= 27 ; C = 9 . Putting all this together, we get
x2 2 2 2 7 1
3 = + +
(x 2) (x + 1) 27 (x 2) 27 (x + 1) 9 (x + 1)2 3 (x + 1)
3
x = (Ax + B) x2 + 2 + (Cx + D) x2 + 1
We then pick 4 di¤ erent values for x to get a system of 4 equations, which we
solve. The answer is:
x x x
= 2
(x2 + 1) (x2 + 2) x +1 x2 + 2
5
2x 1
Example 6 Write the decomposition for 3
(x2 + x + 1)
2x 1 Ax + B Cx + D Ex + F
3 = + +
(x2 + x + 1) x2 + x + 1 (x2 + x + 1)2 2
(x + x + 1)
3
The answer is
2x 1 1 1
2 3 = 2
(x 1) (x2 + x + 1) 27 (x 1) 27 (x 1)
1 x+1 1 1 x+3
+
27 x2 + x + 1 9 (x2 + x + 1)2 3 (x2 + x + 1)3
1.7 Application
The idea behind this decomposition is that once the fraction is decomposed, we
can integrate it.
Z
x
Example 8 Find 2
dx
x + 2x 3
x 1 3 1
We found earlier that 2 = + . Therefore,
x + 2x 3 4 x+3 x 1
Z Z Z
x 1 dx dx
dx = 3 +
x2 + 2x 3 4 x+3 x 1
3 1
= ln jx + 3j + ln jx 1j
4 4
Using substitution
Z
x
Example 9 Find dx
(x2 + 1) (x2 + 2)
x
We saw earlier as an example that the partial fraction decomposition of 2
(x + 1) (x2 + 2)
was
x x x
= 2
(x2 + 1) (x2 + 2) x + 1 x2 + 2
6
Therefore
Z Z Z
x x x
dx = dx dx
(x + 1) (x2 + 2)
2 2
x +1 x2 +2
We can do the …rst integral by substitution. If we let u = x2 +1, then du = 2xdx
and therefore
Z Z
x 1 du
dx =
x2 + 1 2 u
1
= ln juj
2
1
= ln x2 + 1
2
The second integral is done in a similar way. We obtain
Z
x 1
dx = ln x2 + 2
x2 + 2 2
It follows that
Z
x 1 1
dx = ln x2 + 1 ln x2 + 2
(x2 + 1) (x2 + 2) 2 2
1 x2 + 1
= ln
2 x2 + 2
s
x2 + 1
= ln +C
x2 + 2
R x3
Example 10 Find dx
1 x2
The function we are integrating is a rational function. However, the degree of
the numerator is greater than or equal to the degree of the denominator. So,
the …rst step is to perform long division. We did this at the beginning of this
document and found that
x3 x
=x+
x2 1 x2 1
It follows that Z Z Z
x3 x
dx = xdx + dx (1)
x2 1 x2 1
We can do the …rst integral. The second, is the integral of a rational function.
x
To be able to evaluate it, we …rst decompose 2 into partial fractions.
x 1
x x
2
=
x 1 (x 1) (x + 1)
A B
= +
x 1 x+1
7
We need to …nd A and B. We do it using the techniques described above. First,
we multiply each side by the denominator of the fraction on the left to obtain
x = A (x + 1) + B (x 1)
1
When x = 1, we get 1 = 2A or A = . When x = 1, we get 1= 2B or
2
1
B = . Therefore,
2
x 1 1 1
2
= +
x 1 2 x 1 x+1
If we replace what we just found in equation 1, we obtain
Z Z Z Z
x3 1 dx 1 dx
2
dx = xdx + +
x 1 2 x 1 2 x+1
These are integrals we can handle.
Z
x3 x2 1 1
2
dx = + ln jx 1j + ln jx + 1j
x 1 2 2 2
2
x 1
= + ln x2 1
2 2
1.8 Problems
Do the problems below:
Z 2
4x 1
1. Find dx
4 (x 1) (x + 2)
Z
x2
2. Find dx
x+1
Z 2
x +1
3. Find dx
x2 x
Z
dx
4. Find where a 6= 0
x2 a2
Z 1
2x + 3
5. Find 2 dx
0 (x + 1)
Z
dx
6. Find 2
(x 1) (x + 4)
7. Do # 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 25, 27 on page 405